Why is NOAA & PHS considered part of the Uniformed Services?

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 19 May 2015 19:26:44 -0400

I've always been curious to know why NOAA and PHS have commissioned officers and why they are considered to be part of the Uniformed Services. Can anyone explain this to me? Since they're part of the Uniformed Services does this mean they qualify for DoD benefits too (i.e. 20 yr retirement & pension, VA benefits, etc)?

Response by GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad made May 19 at 2015 7:38 PM

GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad — Tue, 19 May 2015 19:38:32 -0400

Perhaps this will help SFC Private RallyPoint Member:

http://vip-promis.blogspot.com/2015/04/uniformed-services-of-united-states.html

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made May 19 at 2015 7:47 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 19 May 2015 19:47:45 -0400

Great information, GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made May 19 at 2015 7:58 PM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Tue, 19 May 2015 19:58:54 -0400

Yes they do. As an example, the Surgeon General is actually an Admiral in the (US)PHS.

Think of them like the Chaplain Corps. "Uniformed" but not "Armed."

Officers have specific Powers, as opposed to (Special) Agents, hence the difference. Although the Uniformed Services administratively, & operationally fall under the Executive Branch, we answer to the Constitution ("the appointment of the officers" Art 1, Sect 8) . Special Agents generally answer to the Executive Branch, as their authority comes from the Cabinet Level, as opposed to the Constitution itself.

Response by SPC David S. made May 19 at 2015 9:24 PM

SPC David S. — Tue, 19 May 2015 21:24:39 -0400

For NOAA - In short so they wouldn't get killed for being spies -
While NOAA was born in 1970 is origins go way back as a uniformed service. The NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps traces its roots to the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. The Coast and Geodetic Survey's predecessor, the United States Survey of the Coast – renamed the United States Coast Survey in 1836 – was founded in 1807 under President Thomas Jefferson. Until the American Civil War, the Coast Survey was manned by civilian personnel working with United States Army and United States Navy officers. During the Civil War (1861–1865), Army officers were withdrawn from Coast Survey duty, never to return, while all but two Navy officers also were withdrawn from Coast Survey service for the duration of the war. Since most men of the Survey had Union sympathies, most stayed on with the Survey rather than resigning to serve the Confederate States of America; their work shifted in emphasis to support of the U.S. Navy and Union Army, and these Coast Surveyors are the professional ancestors of today's NOAA Corps. Those Coast Surveyors supporting the Union Army were given assimilated military rank while attached to a specific command, but those supporting the U.S. Navy operated as civilians and ran the risk of being executed as spies if captured by the Confederates while working in support of Union forces. After the war, U.S. Navy officers returned to duty with the Coast Survey, which was given authority over geodetic activities in the interior of the United States in 1871 and accordingly was renamed the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1878.

For PHS - The PHS Commissioned Corps traces its beginnings back to the U.S. Marine Hospital Service protecting against the spread of disease from sailors returning from foreign ports and maintaining the health of immigrants entering the country. Under John Adam in 1798 the "Act for Relief and Disabled Seamen" was enacted and slowly became a network of coastal Marine hospitals. Later a centralized HQ was created in DC under the supervising surgeon later titled the Surgeon General.

Much like Army Corp of Engineers these uniformed services where more or less branches of the Army and Navy that split off like the Air Force to form their own uniformed service. So yes while not under the DoD command they do receive benefit.

Response by CDR Terry Boles made Oct 27 at 2015 7:16 PM

CDR Terry Boles — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 19:16:16 -0400

SGT Kimberly Hall
SGT Aaron Kennedy
SPC David Stephenson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYGLqn0KdCo&index=5&list=PLSDzEhxgwQWXywrplSavjnodDqsrWRCBW (PHS, the little known service)

The PHS is one of seven Uniformed Services of the United States and has been around for over 200 years. The origins of the PHS may be traced to the passage of an Act in 1798 signed by President John Adams that provided for the care and relief of sick and injured merchant seamen. The earliest Marine Hospitals created to care for the seamen were located along the East Coast, at the harbors of the major port cities, with Boston being the site of the first such facility, followed later by others including in the Baltimore vicinity at Curtis Bay. Later they were also established during the 1830s and 1840s along inland waterways, the Great Lakes, and the Gulf of Mexico. By the 1850s the Marine Hospitals were established along the Pacific Coasts as the country expanded westward. Funding for the Marine Hospital’s was provided by a mandatory tax of about 1% of the wages of all maritime sailors. The PHS Commissioned Officer Corps was formally established by congressional legislation in 1889, and signed by 22nd/24th President Grover Cleveland. At first open only to physicians, over the course of the 20th Century, the PHS expanded to include veterinarians, dentists, physician assistants, sanitary engineers, pharmacists, nurses, environmental health officers, scientists, physical therapists, and other types of health professionals. The PHS was called upon to assist the military in the Spanish-American War of 1898. All of the PHS Marine Hospitals were made available for the care of the sick and wounded of the Army and Navy. A PHS medical officer was on duty aboard the Revenue Cutter McCullough with the fleet of Commodore Dewy at the battle of Manila Bay.

During World War II, the President was given legislative authority for militarizing the PHS. Congress on November 11, 1943 authorized military benefits for the commissioned officers of the PHS and also gave the President the authority to declare the PHS to be a military service in times of war. The Public Health Service Act of July 1, 1944, which repealed the 1943 Act, contained the same provision for militarization of the PHS. On June 21, 1945, President Truman issued Executive order No. 9575 which declared "the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service to be a military service and a branch of the land and naval forces of the United States during the period of the present war, World War II." The Public Health Service Act of July 1, 1944 was later amended to state that the President might declare the PHS to be a military service not only in time of threatened or actual war, but also in "an emergency involving the national defense proclaimed by the President." In the absence of a declared war in Korea, the PHS reverted back to a Uniformed Service although many PHS officers deployed. The PHS also contributed support to military operations such as in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf. For example, the PHS organized surgical teams in Vietnam, consisting of both active duty officers and civilian personnel. PHS was also involved in efforts to control malaria and other infectious diseases in Vietnam. On July 6, 1988, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense signed for the first time a Memorandum of Agreement which established a contingency planning relationship between the departments "for the mobilization and employment of US Public Health Service (PHS) Commissioned Corps Officers in DoD health care activities." The PHS has partnered, very successfully, with the Defense Health Agency of the Department of Defense to augment behavioral health and physical therapy resources for returning Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines. PHS officers traditionally can be found in large numbers assigned to the Indian Health Service (IHS), Bureau of Prisons (BOP), CDC, FDA, Coast Guard, NOAA, and a host of many other federal and state agencies.

In 2002 Vice Admiral Richard Carmona was sworn in as the 17th US Surgeon General (SG) of the United States Public Health Service. SG Carmona was a high school dropout who enlisted in the Army in 1967 and subsequently became a combat-decorated Vietnam veteran with the Army’s Special Forces. The years that followed, SG Carmona obtained his medical degree in 1979 and became a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Prior to being sworn in as SG, he was the chairman of the State of Arizona Southern Regional Emergency Medical System, a professor of surgery, public health and family and community medicine at the University of Arizona, and the Pima County Sheriff's Department surgeon and deputy sheriff. During SG Carmona’s tenure he is credited with the transformation of the PHS and the initial partnerships with DoD which led to PHS officers deploying in harm’s way for mutual missions and providing more medical providers at military treatment facilities.

Although a small branch of service with 6746 commissioned officers, the PHS deployed nearly 900 officers providing a continuous presence from 2003 to 2014 for ongoing operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq working directly with the Ministries of Public Health to create national programs and services for both countries. PHS officers deployed to Afghanistan delivered and coordinated clinical and public health interventions designed to improve maternal and child health outcomes in a sustainable systems approach. The Afghanistan Health Initiative focused on the Rabia Balkhi Hospital to implement processes and systems designed to strengthen hospital management and leadership; to develop culturally appropriate training programs for physicians, midwives, and other health providers in the hospital; and to improve health outcomes for mothers and newborns. While other PHS officers deployed in support of combat units; one such officer was CAPT Maurice Sheehan (0-6) who deployed for 12-months in 2008 at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Fenty and partook in numerous operations working with Pashtoon refugees, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the Department of State in the hotly contested Korengal Valley with 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team and then after a Relief in Place/Transfer of Authority (RIP/TOA) with the 1st Infantry Division, known as the “Big Red One”. During one such operation, CAPT Sheehan, while serving at Combat Outpost (COP) Seray in the Chowkay Valley, earned his Army Combat Medical Badge (CMB) as he came under heavy enemy fire while enroute to performing medical interventions on a wounded Afghanistan Army soldier. For his work and similar combat actions and interventions both in the Korengal at COP Vegas, he was subsequently meritoriously awarded the DoD Bronze Star.

PHS officers also deployed to backfill medical needs at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii to provide care to wounded warriors. PHS officers are currently assigned to the Pentagon, USNORTHCOM/NORAD, TRICARE, Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security, and Army and Air Force medical treatment facilities (MTFs) providing care to wounded warriors with traumatic brain injuries. PHS officers also provide direct health care services to service members of the US Coast Guard and the commissioned officers of NOAA at their bases and aboard ship.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9_bYzJoR2E&list=PLSDzEhxgwQWXywrplSavjnodDqsrWRCBW&index=2 (Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xft5Z2eNlLk&index=4&list=PLSDzEhxgwQWXywrplSavjnodDqsrWRCBW (Brooke Army Medical Center)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oruuk2ztoQ0&list=PLSDzEhxgwQWXywrplSavjnodDqsrWRCBW&index=3 (Naval Medical Center Portsmouth)

PHS officers are involved in health care delivery to underserved and vulnerable populations, disease control and prevention, biomedical research, food and drug regulation, mental health and drug abuse services, and response efforts for natural and man-made disasters as an essential component of the largest public health program in the world. The PHS were once again called upon in 2014 when President Barack Obama pledged the nation’s resources in the fight against the Ebola virus in West Africa. A team of specialized PHS officers deployed to Monrovia, Liberia, to manage and staff a 25-bed hospital (MMU) constructed by the DoD to treat health care workers stricken with the virus. The PHS was the only branch of service that provided direct patient care. More than 300 PHS officers deployed to Monrovia for the MMU mission, while an additional 300 PHS officers deployed to West Africa in support of Centers for Disease and Prevention Control (CDC) missions. In September, 2015, President Obama presented the PHS with the Presidential Unit Citation for the MMU Ebola mission in Monrovia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zDEt96R2F4&index=1&list=PLSDzEhxgwQWXywrplSavjnodDqsrWRCBW (MMU)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9DgryQAe84 (MMU walk through)

The PHS is well known throughout its history for their deployments during disasters. Some examples are when the PHS deployed to Ground Zero, more than 1000 PHS officers deployed to New York City. During hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma the PHS deployed more than 2000 officers to standup and manage field hospitals. In the aftermath of the Hattian earthquake the PHS deployed officers to provide medical care, and with the Gulf oil spill the PHS was there providing environmental expertise. During the 2014 unaccompanied minor children immigration crisis the PHS deployed and managed the initial medical triage and medical care, and provided case management services.

In addition to disaster response, the PHS has partnered with the US Navy on their health diplomacy missions. PHS officers have been part of the Navy's Pacific Partnership (in the Pacific basin) and Continuing Promise (in the Caribbean/west Atlantic) since 2007. Such missions are often carried out on either the USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) or USNS Comfort (T-AH-20), though other ships, such as the USS Bataan (LHD-5) have also been used.

Today, the PHS has and continues to serve this Nation in time of peace and war. Although a small Uniformed Service of 6746 commissioned officers, the PHS stands ready to meet the global and domestic health challenges of the 21st century through partnerships with DoD/NOAA/Coast Guard providing health care to service members of all branches of service, as Liaison Officers in foreign countries, providing research and health care to some of the most vulnerable populations, duty assignments within multiple federal and state agencies, and as the only Uniformed Service in the world that focuses exclusively on the public’s health through “Protecting, Promoting, and Advancing the Health and Safety of the Nation”.

US Public Health Service: little known but important

The PHS Commissioned Officers Foundation for the Advancement of Public Health commissioned this video highlighting the little known but important work of the...

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Dec 26 at 2015 10:07 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Sat, 26 Dec 2015 22:07:28 -0500

I had seen the discussion, and did not mean to correct; however, I merely had wanted to point out that, in fact, the various Surgeons General of all the services are, actually, vice admirals (O-9s), I believe. I just had noticed that here, and had just thought to mention it, that was all; by contrast, the various Commandants of the NOAA Commissioned Corps are, I believe, rear admirals (O-7), I believe, though I am uncertain whether the other terminology of "upper half" and/or "lower half" would apply at all in their cases (just wondering). There is also a very fascinating website, if you might possibly care to look at it at all, as well as for those following the discussion here, http://www.history.noaa.gov/stories_tales/platt.html, about a Civil War hero Cdr. Robert Platt, USN(Ret.), who had been in the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survery (USCGS) as a USN Lt. assigned at the Battle of Mobile Bay due to his having been a master mariner. I actually found that one of the most fascinating historical pieces I had ever encountered, and had actually thought it might make a fascinating true film, though I obviously despair of anyone ever taking the notion seriously, unfortunately. In any event, enjoy, and also nice holiday and new year to all as well from both my wife as well as myself. I can share more such historical and/or organizational trivia on both NOAA and USPHS in future, also, if anyone might perhaps be interested, at all.

NOAA History - A Nation at War/Civil War/Robert Platt

The following excerpt from Senate Report No. 1114 of the 54th Congress, 1st Session of the United States Senate details the unique case of Robert Platt - master mariner, Civil War hero, recipient of battle-field commission, Coast Surveyor, and Fisheries research vessel captain. Robert Platt was also the Nineteenth Century naval officer who served longest with the Coast Survey - 16 years of naval service and an additional service period of at...

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 5 at 2016 1:10 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 05 Feb 2016 13:10:07 -0500

Yes they are considered Federal Service. They have a rank system and nomenclature similar to the Navy and also qualify for the standard military benefits.

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 18 at 2018 11:33 PM

COL Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 18 Mar 2018 23:33:35 -0400

Yes they do. You can take your DOD years and add them to you’d USPHS or NOAA years and get your 20 year retirement and VA compensation. They wear sea rank like Navy. Use the same Tricare. The money for services at military medical facilities are remembered by the service but it’s all transparent.

Response by CAPT Kevin M. Mc Guinness made Nov 11 at 2023 11:14 PM

CAPT Kevin M. Mc Guinness — Sat, 11 Nov 2023 23:14:02 -0500

This is an interesting question and I'm glad you asked. I have served as an NCO in the Navy and a CO in the AF and PHS. During my PHS service I was also assigned to the Navy as part of the GWOT. I found the following history online. In fact, personally know PHS officers who have been awarded medals for their valor under fire. By law (42 U.S. Code § 213) (a) Rights, privileges, immunities, and benefits accorded to commissioned officers [of the PHS] or their survivors [:]
Except as provided in subsection (b), commissioned officers of the Service and their surviving beneficiaries shall, with respect to active service performed by such officers—
(1) in time of war;
(2) on detail for duty with the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard; or
(3) while the Service is part of the military forces of the United States pursuant to Executive order of the President; be entitled to all rights, privileges, immunities, and benefits now or hereafter provided under any law of the United States in the case of commissioned officers of the Army or their surviving beneficiaries on account of active military service, except retired pay and uniform allowances.

MILITARIZATION OF THE PHS COMMISSIONED CORPS
The Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service has played a role in supporting wartime health requirements throughout its history. Soon after the formal establishment of the Corps in 1889, it was called upon to assist the military in the Spanish-American War of 1898. All of the Service’s Marine Hospitals were made available for the care of the sick and wounded of the Army and Navy. The Corps also was given the major responsibility for the prevention of the introduction of yellow fever into the United States by troops returning from Cuba and Puerto Rico. Medical officers of the Service were assigned to Cuban and Puerto Rican ports, and some Service officers were assigned to transports carrying troops home. The Service also operated a temporary quarantine station for returning troops. A medical officer of the Service was also on duty aboard the Revenue Cutter McCullough with the fleet of Commodore Dewy at the battle of Manila Bay.
The Spanish-American War emphasized the need for defining the functions and status of the Service in wartime. As a consequence, the act reorganizing the Service that was approved on July 1, 1902 contained the following provision:
“That the President is authorized in his discretion to utilize the Public Health and Marine Hospital Service in times of threatened or actual war to such extent and in such manner as shall in his judgement promote the public interest without, however, in any wise impairing the efficiency of the Service for the purposes for which the same was created and is maintained.”
Using the authority of this 1902 Act, President Wilson militarized the PHS in anticipation of America’s entry into World War I by an Executive Order issued on April 3, 1917. This order allowed the PHS to detail officers or other employees at the request of the Secretary of War or the Secretary of the Navy to the military and made PHS stations available for treating sick and wounded military personnel and related purposes in times of war or threatened war. With the issuance of this order, the Service was considered to be a part of the military forces. In addition, Congress passed a joint resolution approved July 9, 1917 fixing the rights and status of PHS officers when serving in the Coast Guard, Army, or Navy.
The Executive Order of April 3, 1917 by which President Wilson militarized the PHS was later overturned. An opinion issued by the Attorney General on October 29, 1921, held that the power to create a military force out of a civilian one was a duty residing in Congress alone. The opinion stated that under the existing law of 1902, the President could utilize but not convert the Service to a military force within the meaning of the definition “military or naval forces of the United States.”
During World War II, however, the President was given legislative authority for militarizing the PHS Commissioned Corps. The Act of Congress of November 11, 1943 that authorized military benefits for the commissioned officers of the PHS also gave the President the authority to declare the PHS Corps to be a military service in times of war. The Public Health Service Act of July 1, 1944, which repealed the 1943 Act, contained the same provision for militarization of the PHS Corps. On June 21, 1945, President Truman issued Executive order No. 9575 which declared “the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service to be a military service and a branch of the land and naval forces of the United States during the period of the present war.”
The official end of World War II did not take place until the coming into effect of the treaty with Japan on April 28, 1952, by which time the United States was already involved in the Korean conflict.
The official end of the war would have returned the PHS Corps, which was involved in supporting the military action in Korea, to a non-military status, but by interim legislation the Congress on April 14, 1952 continued certain wartime powers of the President, including the authority to declare the PHS Corps to be a military service. By Executive Order No. 10349, dated April 26, 1952, President Truman maintained the status of the PHS Corps as a part of the country’s land and naval forces. By Public Law 450, approved July 3, 1952, the Congress again extended certain wartime powers of the President, but did not continue his authority to declare the PHS Corps to be a military service. In the absence of such authority, and in the absence of a formal state of war, the PHS Corps was no longer a military service. The Public Health Service Act was later amended to state that the President might declare the PHS Corps to be a military service not only in time of threatened or actual war, but also in “an emergency involving the national defense proclaimed by the President.”
The PHS Commissioned Corps has also contributed support to more recent military operations of the United States, such as in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf. For example, the PHS organized surgical teams in Vietnam, consisting of both Corps and civilian personnel. PHS staff were also involved in efforts to control malaria and other infectious diseases in Vietnam. The Office of the PHS Historian, however, does not have any information on whether or not the President used his authority to declare the PHS Corps a military service during these conflicts. On July 6, 1988, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense signed for the first time a Memorandum of Agreement which established a contingency planning relationship between the departments “for the mobilization and employment of U. S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps Officers in DoD health care activities.”
Prepared by John Parascandola, PHS Historian, September, 2001

Response by CAPT Kevin M. Mc Guinness made Nov 12 at 2023 8:07 PM

CAPT Kevin M. Mc Guinness — Sun, 12 Nov 2023 20:07:08 -0500

See the full article at https://lhncbc.nlm.nih.gov/LHC-publications/PDF/pub2001060.pdf

pub2001060.pdf